Lower East Side condo rising next to Katz's Deli tops out

Nearly a year to the day that sales launched at Ben Shaoul’s Katz’s Deli-eclipsing condo on Houston, the 11-story building has topped out. Ten of the building’s 94 apartments are currently on the market, ranging from a $1.075 million studio to a $4.8 million three-bedroom apartment.

The building was made possible when Shaoul purchased a strip of single story restaurants between Orchard and Ludlow streets in 2014 for $75 million, alongside the air rights from neighbor Katz’s Deli. (Don’t worry, the pastrami institution isn’t going anywhere—or so it seems.)

The building will be home to a two-story Equinox gym—that’s right, this area of Houston is about to smell like a spa rather than trash—as well as a shared rooftop for residents, and personal and bike storage.

Construction began at the start of 2016, and the building stood at eight stories as of August. Construction is expected to wrap up in 2018, with first residents moving in early next year.

• On the Lower East Side, a condo takes shape next to Katz’s Deli [Curbed]
• The Lower East Side’s thousands of incoming apartments, mapped [Curbed]